Blu-ray Review: My Neighbor Totoro

The desire to be the next Walt Disney has been a major curse for many dreaming animators. The press agents at Disney make it seem easy to follow Walt’s model of family entertainment success. You create likeable characters that kids embrace. A few weeks later, you’ll open a massive theme park so that the kids can hug them and buy all the toys. But what most people forget to notice is Walt nearly went broke at nearly every stage of his career. His formula for success isn’t a Betty Crocker recipe. His biography is the story of a guy who had a hot streak playing Blackjack in Vegas. Not everyone can duplicate him otherwise every filmmaker with a handful of animation cells would be a moguls. But that doesn’t mean that it’s impossible to be the next Walt Disney at certain levels. Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki is one of the few people who has been able to grasp the dream of Walt Disney without recounting his career in a bankruptcy court transcript. His Studio Ghibli has made international hits and won major awards since the mid-’80s. One of his first hits was My Neighbor Totoro which is finally out in a Blu-ray + DVD combo package so you can get absorbed into the image.

What Miyazaki was able to do was combine the charms found not only in Disney’s animated efforts, but their live action films. My Neighbor Totoro has both the cute animated character and the heartwarming family tale. A professor and his two daughters, Mei and Satsuki, move to a house in the countryside to be closer to their mother. She’s recovering at a hospital from an illness. The father does his best to comfort the girls in this strange place. What makes things a little more difficult is rumors that their new house is haunted. The father doesn’t want his daughters to be frightened of the soot spirits. He scares them away with his protective nature. While exploring countryside, Mei discovers magical animals that look like egg-shaped rabbits. They are the Totoro. Turns out that the largest of these creatures is the Keeper of the Forest. He can only be seen by children and only children he wants to see him. This sets off a series of events includes the girls riding in a bus that’s a giant cat and one sister getting lost. The bit crisis arrives when one sister is feared to be trapped in another dimension. It’s a G-rated film so it shouldn’t be too traumatic to younger viewers.

My Neighbor Totoro delves into a weirdness rarely seen in American family animated films. But because the story is grounded in the relationship between the father and his daughters, the odd moments are involving instead of confusing. The family bond allows the audience to accept what could easily be seen nonsense in the hands of a lesser director. Miyazaki understands that while it’s good to have a cute animated character, the movie won’t work if the emotions are false. This is why Miyazaki has been able to keep making his movies at Studio Ghibli. The Totoro are his studio’s logo like Mickey Mouse is for Walt Disney. In a good twist of fate, the Japanese studio has a deal with the Walt Disney company for distribution. It’s not about following Walt’s recipe to achieve success. It’s about creating a movie that’s equally as undeniably tasty as Walt’s most addictive films. Which is what Miyazaki accomplished.

The video is 1.85:1 anamorphic. The 1080p transfer brings out the complete beauty of the rural Japanese landscape when the girls explore the woods. The audio is a 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio in English, Japanese and French. The Japanese mix has the most atmosphere. There’s something a little too dry about English dub even with a good voice cast. The subtitles are English and French. You can play the Japanese and read along in English.

DVD contains the movie. This is good for when the kid wants to watch the film in the back seat of the car.
Original Japanese Storyboards (86 minutes) gives us the entire movie using the pencil sketches of the scenes.
Creating My Neighbor Totoro (2:58) has Miyzaki explain the story started as a children’s book written when he was frustrated doing TV animation.

Creating the Characters (4:24) discusses how the filmmakers pondered unveiling their huge creation.

The Totoro Experience (2:00) has the producer discuss the success of the film and the characters. Miyzaki admit he didn’t think the film would be a major hit.
Producers Perspective: Creating Ghibli (1:23) is a quick memory about how it was an ideal time for them to launch their own animation studio in Japan.

The Locations of Totoro (28:38) is a Japanese documentary that explores the area which inspired the scenery. It’s subtitled.
Scoring Miyzaki (7:18) explores the music that creates the magical elements of the films. The music is as important as the visuals for the director.

Original Japanese Trailer (0:53) are extreme teaser trailers.

Behind the Microphone (5:39) takes us into the audio booth with the American voice actors. Dakota Fanning was so young when she did it.

My Neighbor Totoro is a family drama that smoothly slides into a spiritual fantasy. Two girls and their father explore life in their new country home and discover magical creatures living around them. This is a sweet and spiritual animated film that a fine introduction to Miyazaki’s work.

About The Author

Joe Corey

Joe Corey is the author of "The Seven Secrets of Great Walmart People Greeters." This is the last how to get a job book you'll ever need. He was Associate Producer of the documentary "Moving Midway." He's worked as local crew on several reality shows including Candid Camera, American's Most Wanted, Extreme Makeover Home Edition and ESPN's Gaters. He's been featured on The Today Show and CBS's 48 Hours. Dom DeLuise once said, "Joe, you look like an axe murderer." He was in charge of research and programming at the Moving Image Archive.